Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World

November 5, 2007

Modcast #74

Editor's Note: Due to a technnical glitch this episode was late in posting. Please forgive.

Welcome to Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World all girl special. I started putting this modcast together and realized that purely by accident I'd picked out mostly songs about girls. So I finished up the set keeping that with that unconcsious theme and now you're going to be treated to girls, girls, girls. Hopefully I won't get tagged as a perv for searching out songs about little girls, tricky girls, school girls, naked girls, and other girls. All from bands like The Creation, The Thanes, The Scooters and The Headboys. Get youself settled and turn up your speakers, it's time for the show.

Kids -- Hey Little Girl
The Scooters -- Young Girls
The Headboys -- Schoolgirls
Wardens -- Tricky Girls
The Diodes -- Plastic Girls
The Kidnappers - Spanish Girls
Red Cross -- Clorox Girls
The Creation -- The Girls Are Naked
The Thanes - Girls
The Orchids -- Girls
Eux Autres -- Other Girls

The Creation -- Makin' Time

Oingo Boingo -- Little Girls

November 1, 2007

The Mod Sound: The Untouchables

In the early to mid 80s Southern California boasted the USA’s largest mod scene. And no wonder, the weather was such you could ride your scooter virtually rain free over 300 days a year. British mods never had it so good.

In the early 80s in Los Angeles, Hollywood, Orange County and the Inland Empire, the scene was exploding. Relatively speaking. (Never mind San Diego and San Francisco that were also beginning to stir to life as centers of mod activity.) Scooterists were popping up everywhere and scooter clubs were forming, and more importantly young wanna be musicians were thinking that a mod sort of sound was for them. Fortunately for most that passed quickly in the summer of '79, or maybe ’80. But for a few it made an endearing and indelible mark that would haunt them throughout the decade. One of the first bands so branded were The Untouchables.

Rather than tell you their history, which you can find elsewhere, I will tell you my history with the band –such as it is— and how I perceived them, and hope no one steals my story.

I was a sophomore at Upland High School about 30 minutes east of Los Angeles when I first heard the rumblings about The Untouchables. It was 1983. I was a lowly scrub with little social standing at school, but they were already well on their way to local notoriety with the onslaught of their second single. Of course, everyone I knew thought it was their first. So much for marketing.

First, second, no matter. The single was The General and it was a piece of … work. But, if you fancied yourself a mod –and I did, even if it wasn’t always the case at the time– then this was the goddam best fu*king single of the year.

I mean in 1983, The Jam were just recently departed – never mind we in the US were just really getting used to a band named after something we put on bread – and the two-tone ska movement of Britian was already ashes. Here in the states kids were still discovering the sound of the mod revival and pounding it out in their garages (and church multi-purpose rooms mind you) as if it were brand new. And for us it was brand new. The Jam, and the Damned, be damned.

The Untouchables hit Southern California in 1981 amidst the explosion of punk rock – their compatriots in some sense were X, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks – and they tapped into that vibe, but with their own sort of ska and power pop mix that seemed to tap equally 1967 and 1977. They covered the Monkees, and then they covered The Specials. It was a pure mix of power pop and ska that few bands other than perhaps Madness (and they’re mostly a ska band at heart) have ever managed to really grab onto. Mixing soul with ska was one thing, lots of acts had done that. Mixing soul with power pop was becoming more and more common all the time as bands hearkened back to the Who, Yardbirds and early Stones. But precious few bands ever mixed all three of these elements together, let alone successfully. The Jam mixed a lot of soul with power pop. Likewise the Specials or English Beat mixing soul with ska and reggae. Probably only The Clash ever really came close, and they're the exception. As far as I'm concerned, no commercially succesful band ever truly merged all three sounds -- so I'd argue that The Untouchables alone really did so. (Okay, commercially sucesfsul and Untouchables in the same sentence might be a stretch. But, since I remember hearing Free Yourself on the radio in Indianapolis in 1985 and thinking, "DAMN! The UTs have hit the heartland" (I'm willing to argue they were somewhat commercially sucessful - though the band's bank accounts may beg to differ.)

Between 1981 and 1986 The Untouchables were the preeminent mod band, and the preeminent ska band, in southern California. No one mixed the two genres as seamlessly as they did, and with as much passion and resulting in as much enjoyment from their audiences.

I didn’t see the band live until 1984 and many said I missed their best shows -- though I find that hard to believe having seen them do some pretty great sets in some pretty crappy places (Oscar's Cornhusker, The Timbers, etc). From what I remember I would say I saw them at their peak when they had smoothed out the rough edges. Seeing them upwards of 20 times in 1984-1986 I can tell you that band was smooth in that very cool "we know what we’re doing" way. And they also had a certain raw, untempered feel to their shows. These weren’t over-rehearsed sets choreographed by a video producer. These were Untouchables shows with all the intensity the band had ever had, as well as some of the foibles that made them real and raw.

Here then are two of the many great tracks that the band produced. First up is Mod Knights, which no one would remember if it wasn’t for the comp CD ‘Cool Beginnings: Rare and Unreleased 1981- 1983' (even though it was a staple of their live sets through the mid 80s). That CD is excellent and boasts loads of early Untouchables recordings, as well as both their singles. The second track here is the second of those singles The General. I include it not because it is the best, but because it is perhaps most representative of those early years, and one of the most well known tracks of The Untouchable’s formative time. And it's a good track.

The Untouchables - Mod Knights
The Untouchables - The General

The Unctouchables discography
• Twist n Shake b/w Dance Beat (1982)
• The General b/w Tropical Bird (1983)
• Live and Let Dance EP (1984)
• Wild Child (1985)
• Agent Double O Soul (1988)
• Decade of Dance (1991)
• Cool Beginnings - Rare & Unreleased 1981-1983

October 30, 2007

Modcast #73: It's Spooky Modoween

Happy Mod-o-Ween! Don't be scared this is just Mr. Suave's halloween episode of Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World. This week's show is extra spooky, extra creepy, and extra good. If you like sixties infused garage rock with a bit of punkish power pop thrown in then you are going to be in heaven.

Madness -- I chase the devil
Gorehounds -- Voodoo priest
Groovie Ghoulies -- Daughter of Frankenstein
Dead Kennedys -- Halloween
The Ghastly Ones -- Haulin' Hearse
The B-52s -- Devil in my car
Gravedigger V -- It's spooky
Zombina & The Skeletones -- The grave ... and beyond
The Undertakers -- Born in a graveyard
The Playn Jayn -- Dig my own grave
The Postmarks -- Everyday is Halloween

The Ghastly Ones -- Haulin' Hearse

Madness -- I chase the devil

October 21, 2007

Modcast #72: Happy All The Time

Welcome to modcast number 72 of Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World.

This episode is chock full of garage, soul, power pop and more. From the Kravin A's to Sleeper, from The Crooks to Rare Groove Orchestra, there's no doubt you will find more than a few morsels of goodness within. And a bit of news for you all, I've launched a new sort of thing on the modcast homepage, Mod Sounds. Every so often I will be sharing mod singles with all my dear listeners out there. So, keep an eye on this page because it will update periodically each week with a new download. Kicking things of this week you can grab The Targets -- Searching for a Scene. As always you can e-mail me at rob@mistersuave.com. Enjoy.

The Kravin A's -- You Know It Is
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings -- What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Paulo Apollo Negri -- Orangepeel
Rare Groove Orchestra -- Chili Con Carne
Sonic Love Affair -- Why You No Love Me
Jimmy Lingon -- The Writer
Ponys -- Today
The Crooks -- All The Time In The World
The Movements -- I Feel Groovy
The Flatmates -- Happy All The Time
Sleeper -- What Do I Do Now

Jimmy Lingon -- I Don't Know, I Don't Care

Sonic Love Affair -- Something to Believe in

The Mod Sound: The Targets - Searching for a Scene

I'm starting something new, where in every so often (I hesitate to say daily, or even weekly, as I'm a notorious procrastinator) I will be sharing single songs from my collection. These will primarily be mod songs that are perhaps obscure, or at least not mainstream. My hope is that this will introduce you all to things you might have missed otherwise and that you will search out the artists, buy their music or support their live performances.

So the first upload I've selected is from a band that I saw play live only once right at the end of their existence, The Targets.

They were a southern California mod band from Claremont, fronted by a young woman named Nikki. The guitarist was Perry Tollet who went on to form the mod power pop band Chardon Square that played the So Cal mod scene throughout the rest of the 80s. This track is Searching for a Scene. It's a simple song, a sort of blend of sixties pop with eighties power pop, and definitely geared for dancing. The lyrics are simple too, but perfect for sixteen year old mods that were into reviving all things sixties, cool and British. We wanna be sharp/when we go out at night/We don't wanna look like skanks/we don't wanna fight/We're so far from London/that sometimes I just ache/Working next here on our own/We're all gonna shake.

Get it here.

October 17, 2007

Modcast #71: Time for a Mod Block Party

.. Modcast #71: Time for a Mod Block Party

Welcome to Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World, and welcome to the mod block party.

Lots of cool sounds at the block party this week including The Creation, The Funseekers, The Chords, The Jetz, The Futureheads and more. Questions? Complaints? If you want to e-mail me you can do so at rob@mistersuave.com.

The Leopards -- Block Party
The Vapors -- News At Ten
The Chords -- Hold On I'm Coming
Translator -- Everywhere That I'm Not
The Creation -- Biff Bang Pow
Action -- Baby You've Got It
Baby Snakes -- She'll Be Gone
The Slickee Boys -- Girls Want To Be With Girls
The Jetz -- Moderns For A Day
The Funseekers -- Forever Yours
Futureheads -- Stupid And Shallow

Bonus Video: The Vapors -- Jimmie Jones

The Creation -- Try and Stop Me

October 7, 2007

Modcast #70: The Real Me

.. Modcast #70: The Real Me
Welcome to the 70th episode of Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World

in which I'm going to showcase the most played albums in my collection. Each song comes from an album that I play constantly -- some of them for twnety years or more. I've played through vinyl LPs, cassettes, and CDs of all these albums. I play these albums at least monthly, or even weekly, if not daily. Everything from the very first album I bought for my very own nine year old self, The Monkees, to my mod faves from The Jam and The Who to mod faves like Stupidity and non-mod faves like Oingo Boingo. Another eleven great tracks. Enjoy.